Hot on the heels of Osama bin Laden's
latest release, an audio tape that boosted
George W. Bush's poll numbers despite it being described as a probable
fake by bin Laden expert Professor Bruce Lawrence, Ayman al-Zawahri
has popped up on the eve of the State of the Union to hand Bush all the
ammunition he needs to threaten American citizens for a sixth consecutive
time.

CAIRO, Egypt - Al-Qaida No. 2 Ayman
al-Zawahri said in a videotape aired Monday that President Bush was a "butcher"
and a "failure" because of a deadly U.S. airstrike in Pakistan
targeting the bin Laden deputy, and he threatened a new attack on the United
States.

A U.S. counterterrorism official, speaking on condition of anonymity in
compliance with office policy, said there was no reason to doubt the authenticity
of the tape, which U.S. intelligence officials were analyzing. The official
said the message broadcast by Al-Jazeera showed al-Qaida believed it was
important to convey that al-Zawahri is alive.

Bush's handlers don't have time to wait
to see whether the story floats as they did with the bin Laden tape before
making a decision to refer to it in the speech. However, analysis that suggests
the tape is a forgery as was the case with the previous offering won't surface
until after Tuesday night's address.

Previous tapes which featured Ayman al-Zawahri
were found to be cobbled
together from old footage but that doesn't bother a lapdog
media well versed in manufacturing consent and never offering retractions
when said tapes turn out to be questionable frauds.

Al-Zawahri and bin Laden seem to be amazingly
adept at releasing statements at the most politically expedient times that
benefit the Bush administration.

On the eve of the Iraq war before Colin
Powell's infamous presentation to the UN, an audio tape in which bin Laden
claimed he was allied with Saddam Hussein surfaced, a
gift-wrapped present for the Neo-Cons who had consistently
been proven wrong in their assertion that there was a connection between
Iraq and 9/11.

Four days before the 2004 presidential
election, bin Laden appeared with Bush's 'October surprise' - claiming he
ordered 9/11 and appearing to goad Americans with threats of more attacks.
The tape enabled Bush to recover
vital approval ratings that he had lost to John Kerry in the
weeks before and win re-election.

Even veteran newsman Walter Kronkite went
public to suggest the
tape was a set-up masterminded by Karl Rove.

A Cornell
University study confirmed that whenever a terror alert or
a terror threat is issued, Bush's approval ratings show a significant jump.